The Cash Alternative

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Visa Clear Prepaid program and the Kaiku® Visa® Prepaid Card. 

“Carrying cash freaks me out” wrote one reader in response to my cash grocery budget. She was concerned about trying out a cash budget due to safety concerns. When using cash at the register, your money is on display.

These are viable reasons to not want to carry cash. My uncle is disabled and doesn’t count cash when he pays for things. In the past he has been followed home before. So, I definitely understand why some don’t like the idea of carrying cash, but is there an alternative?

Yes. Many think the only alternative to carrying cash is to use a debit or credit card, but then they miss out on one of the biggest advantages to using cash – sticking to your budget. If all you carry is cash, all you can spend is what is on you. Nothing more, so carrying cash is an amazing way to stick to your grocery budget, clothes shopping budget, eating budget, and other spending.

I mentioned in my stock-up grocery trip post about how I used  the Kaiku® Visa® Prepaid Card to help me stick to my budget when stocking up on grocery essentials like meats. The Kaiku card is a prepaid debit card that can be used anywhere Visa debit is accepted. You load the money on the card and since there are no overdrafts you can only spend the money you have on the card.

Loading the card is super easy. You can load it up at Walmart using their kiosk (there is a $3 loading fee) in customer service or the customer service desk. It takes all of about two minutes and your money is on your card ready to use immediately.

The Kaiku card allows you the same sticking to your budget power cash does, but gives you more peace of mind when shopping and purchasing your items than carrying cash does. The Kaiku card has certified it meets the Visa Clear prepaid standards, which provides you with strong consumer protection including:

• Easy to understand fee plans
• No overdrafts permitted so you can’t incur fees or spend more money than you have
• Deposit or share insurance to protect your funds, e.g. FDIC/NCUSIF
• Visa’s Zero Liability fraud protection, providing added security if your card is lost or stolen.*

*Visa’s Zero Liability Policy covers U.S.-issued cards and does not apply to certain commercial card transactions, or any transactions not processed by Visa. You must notify your financial institution immediately of any unauthorized use. For specific restrictions, limitations and other details, please consult your issuer.

If you’re struggling to stick to your spending budgets and don’t want to use cash, try the Kaiku® Visa® Prepaid Card to make sticking to your budget easier.

Do you worry over carrying cash? What alternatives have given you peace of mind?

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